Written by: Oyeyemi Immanuel
I saw a post recently denouncing the Nigerian passport and stating that the opportunity for Nigerians is unlikely to be realized. Everyone is entitled to determine their threshold for suffering, and to be honest, Nigeria today leaves many of its citizens hurting.
However, this is not the time to condemn the country. This is the time to stand up and contribute in whatever way you can to build it – whether in or out of Nigeria. In my opinion, no matter your need, wit, luck, sense, or wisdom in exiting Nigeria or securing your future in prosperous countries, you owe your motherland a duty to carry a burden for her win.
Our pits as a country are as potent as our cliffs and the truth is that Nigeria’s capacity to be productive, feed its people, and compete amongst the league of nations is not lost on the world. In a few years, every statistic we disdain today will be the springboard for our next, so while present discomfort may induce denunciation of heritage; heritage as a Nigerian remains a unique bragging right we must all embrace.
The bet on Nigeria is out, and many are betting against it. However, as we celebrate our fight for continuity and emergence, I renew my faith that it will end well, and I pray I can witness this. I also would like to celebrate every single person who, against all odds, is still voting for Nigeria; setting up businesses; rerouting money home to develop efficiencies; entrenching culture and mind renewal through content and creativity; training their children to embrace the culture; building local manufacturing capacity; and preaching the gospel of Nigeria to the world. Their efforts are a testament to our collective responsibility for Nigeria’s progress.
New or old anthem, irresponsible leader or impervious laity, citizen in country or diaspora – there is a bellow that heralds Nigeria’s next, and we must respond to its sound as a call to duty. A call to which we must answer “YES”.
In the spirit of new anthems and new songs, here is mine: “I pledge to Nigeria my country, to vote yes to her possibilities, to defend her honor, to represent her properly, to inspire faith in the hearts of others, to collaborate for her development. So help me, God!”
Content provided by EiE Nigeria
– ‘Oyeyemi Immanuel is a lawyer and the founder of The Baton Initiative, a social enterprise that works to equip young Africans via values education, financial and language literacy. She also writes to influence youth perspective on key political and social developments in a manner young people can connect with and derive value from.